Our culture has added a bitter new ingredient to chocolate cake’s traditional flour, sugar, butter, and salt. As if whisked into the batter and baked at 350 degrees, guilt can divert satisfaction and enjoyment from every bite. When was the last time you attended a celebratory event without overhearing contrite declarations of prolonged workouts, pledges to tomorrow’s 30-day cleanse, or laments about how dessert will negatively affect the body?
Under the guise of health, these comments are pervasive, normalized, and societally sanctioned. From social media influencers to fitness magazines to well-intentioned family, coaches, teammates, and friends, we hear that sugar is unequivocally unhealthy and harmful. Before eschewing your favorite sweet treat in the name of health, here are a few considerations to take into account.
1. Any and all foods can fit into a healthy diet.
Chances are, you eat more than sugar alone. Obsessing over a single nutrient, sugar or otherwise, can generate very real fear, stress, and guilt around eating that undermines both mental and physical health. When it comes to eating for whole mind and body wellness, including a wide range of foods promotes a robust nutritional profile as well as palate-pleasing delight. While it’s true that some foods are more nutrient dense than others, including dessert in your life without guilt will neither cause dietary deficiencies nor derail health. Only eating kale would leave you just as nutrient-depleted as only eating cake. Rather than stress and restrict, focus on nutritional variety and enjoyment for a healthy relationship with food, vitality, and strength. Experiment in the kitchen to create your favorite vegetable dish and your favorite dessert, knowing that they both have their place in a balanced and healthy life.
2. You can trust your body.
Your body is more capable of guiding nutritional choices than any diet plan ever will be. Learning to eat intuitively means that you tune into and trust your body to tell you when, what, and how much to eat. This approach supports authentic inner peace and physical health in a culture that markets ever-changing food rules and restrictions as “wellness.” Rather than outsource your eating to the $90 billion diet and lifestyle industry, embrace that only you know what feels best in your body. Refuse to fight against your body any longer, choosing self-appreciation, autonomy, and respect instead. With practice and intention, you will find that your internal cues are both dependable and astute.
3. Eliminating sugar usually backfires.
Recent media claims that sugar is “addictive” usurp your inborn body wisdom while promoting chaotic and harmful eating habits. Diving beneath the buttercream-frosted surface, the body of research observes addiction-like behaviors around sugar only in the context of restriction or intermittent access. In other words, bingeing, overeating, and perceived out-of-control eating are related to dieting and food restriction rather than to sugar itself. You might recognize this phenomenon as the infamous “my diet starts Monday” mentality or the diet-binge cycle. Rejecting dieting and food rules means that eating transforms from opportunities for failure to opportunities for discovering what healthy, sustainable, and delicious uniquely means to you.
4. Health (and fitness) is multi-faceted and complex.
The ever-changing and confusing nature of nutrition science makes for a wild, stressful ride for health-conscious consumers. Sugar represents the nutritional villain du jour, overshadowing past offenders such as salt, cholesterol, and fat that have since been called into question. Why are nutrition opinions and advice constantly conflicting and evolving? Studies investigating nutrition’s impact on health face many obstacles for practical application. A multitude of variables come between our plates and health outcomes: genetics, environmental exposures, socioeconomic status, stress and trauma, access to medical care, employment, level of education, physical activity, and social support name just a few. Demonizing a single nutrient dilutes the complexity of the human experience by dismissing these enormous and powerful factors, while dietary micromanagement contributes to disordered eating and psychological stress that undeniably undermines health.
At the Center for Active Women, we believe that health means enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables. It means visiting your favorite ice cream shop with teammates and friends. Above all, health means the freedom to trust your body and to permanently abolish fear, anxiety, and guilt from your plate.
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